I. Hardware Aging/Damage of the Device Itself
1. Power Supply System Failure: This is most common in electronic blood pressure monitors. After prolonged use, the battery may be depleted, or the power interface may have poor contact, causing the device to fail to start or interrupt measurement. Inferior batteries leaking liquid can also corrode internal circuitry, directly damaging the device.
2. Gas System Damage: After prolonged use, aging and damage to the cuff, leaking connecting tubes, or malfunctions in the built-in air pump/valve can lead to insufficient inflation, abnormal inflation speed, and inability to complete pressure detection.
3. Sensor and Circuit Failure: The pressure sensor in an electronic blood pressure monitor may drift in accuracy after prolonged use. Drops or impacts can cause internal components to loosen, or prolonged exposure to high temperature and humidity can cause short circuits/component rust, all of which can lead to inaccurate measurements or device failure. Mercury blood pressure monitors are prone to mercury leakage and valve malfunction.
II. Inadequate Routine Maintenance
1. Long-Term Lack of Calibration: Electronic blood pressure monitors require calibration every six months to one year. Long-term lack of calibration will cause measurement errors to accumulate, eventually exceeding the allowable range, resulting in consistently high or low readings. This is essentially a malfunction caused by improper maintenance.
2. Improper Storage Environment: Placing the blood pressure monitor in high temperature, humidity, or strong magnetic fields will accelerate the aging of the rubber cuff, affect the sensitivity of electronic components, and lead to decreased accuracy.
III. False Faults Caused by Improper Operation
Many seemingly malfunctioning situations are actually caused by operational errors:
1. Incorrect cuff size selection, such as a mismatch between the cuff and the upper arm circumference, will prevent effective pulse detection and result in a measurement failure display;
2. A cuff that is too loose or too tight, incorrectly positioned, or talking/moving during measurement will interfere with signal detection, leading to error codes or abnormal results;
3. Frequent repeated measurements within a short period, before blood flow has returned to normal, can also cause false faults with large fluctuations in results.
IV. Interference from Special Physical Conditions This situation is not considered a malfunction of the device itself, but it will still produce a similar "measurement failure" result:
1. Severe arrhythmias (such as atrial fibrillation, frequent premature beats), resulting in a completely irregular pulse rhythm. The electronic blood pressure monitor's algorithm cannot recognize a valid signal, and will display a measurement error;
2. Severe arteriosclerosis, upper limb arterial stenosis/occlusion, resulting in an extremely weak pulse signal. The blood pressure monitor cannot capture a valid signal, and will also result in no measurement.
